One of the most reverted festivals in Hindu religion, Shri Ram navami and Shri Hari Jayanti (Swaminarayan Jayanti) was celebrated at Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Atlanta. 12 saints from India led by a very senior saint P. Narayanmuni Swami graced this festival. P. Anirdesh Swami narrated the glory of Shri Ramchandra and Shri Swaminarayan Bhagwan in detail.

Thereafter, various children presented a very good folkdance unfolding the births of Shri Ramchandra and Shri Swaminarayan Bhagwan. P. Narayanmuni Swami explained the importance of dharma and bhakti in our life, through numerous incidents from the lives of Shri Ramchandra and Shri Swaminarayan Bhagwan. He also mentioned that how this true dharma and bhakti are today omnipresent through Pramukh Swami Maharaj. At the end of the festival, P. Santo created an atmosphere for the birth of Ghanshyam Maharaj chanting the shlokas. And everyone participated in the Samuh Arti thereafter.

27 March 2004, Saturday, Charlotte, NC :

Charlotte Mandir celebrated the birth of Purna Purshottam Narayan Sahajanand Swami and Maryada Purshottam Bhagwan Ramchandraji. Many attended this celebration. The program was initiated with the lighting of the lamp and thereafter an excellent Kirtan Aradhna extolling the murti of Shriji Maharaj was presented in the presence of six saints from India, Pujya Divyanayan Swami, Pujya Dharmavinay Swami, Pujya Anirdesh Swami, Pujya Aksharpriya Swami, Pujya Prasannavadan Swami and Pujya Abhayratna Swami. Major portion of the program including the Master of ceremony was delivered in Hindi. Pujya Divyanayan Swami preformed master of ceremony of the entire Ram Navmi and Hari Jayanti celebration in Hindi.

Words fail to describe the feeling of awe of those who attended the samaiyo as they were dumbfounded by the decorations, instant changes of stage backgrounds, prepared by the Haribhaktos. The auditorium reverberated with the calming stuti verses followed by the melodious and harmonious kirtans. During two speeches, the saints explained the significance of "Sant ae Swvayam Hari" and used incidents to help define the importance of maryada (discipline as they appeared in Lord Rama's life.

The entire program had superb stage lighting and audio video effects, Note worthy items presented were Bhagwan mori Naiya, a Kirtan where a boat with Ram-Laxman in it was shown drove while live Kirtan was preformed by the Navik. The celebrations concluded with the exhilaration that it began with as Charlotte mandal’s Haribhaktos performed a self-written and recorded "Janmotsav." Written in Hindi, 25 min long Janmotsav of Lord Ram and Shriji Maharaj was performed in a very distinct way that included Shiv Nritya, Ganesh Nritya and much more. The Charlotte Haribhaktos showed once again personified Yogi Bapa famous adage, "Samp, Suhrudaybhav, and Ekta" as they worked as unified group to please Shreeji Maharaj and Guru Pramukh Swami Maharaj.

27 March 2004, Saturday, Boston, MA:

Haribhaktos and sadhus gathered at the BAPS
Mandir in Lowell to celebrate the 223rd birthday of Ram Bhagwan and Sahajanand Swami Maharaj. The samaiya celebrations began in an upbeat manner with kirtan bhakti from the Kishore and Yuvak Mandals. The assembly was graced by the presence of P. Sadhus, who imparted their wisdom to all. P. Dharmanisht Swami explained how Ram Bhagwan is an ideal for all of mankind, and P. Pranavtirth Swami gave a discourse on the greatness of Sahajanand Swami Maharaj.

A highlight of the celebrations included a half an hour rendition of Sahajanand
Swami's Yash Gatha in full, extolling the many feats he accomplished during his
presence here on Earth. The samaiyo concluded with a lively celebration of
Janmotsav, along with a spontaneous Raas performed by the Kishore Mandal.

4 April 2004, Sunday, Clifton, NJ :

BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir, Clifton, NJ devotedly celebrated Bhagwan Swaminarayan's birthday, Hari Jayanti, and Ram Navami Samaiyo with great jubilation in the presence of visiting saints, Pujya Mangal Nayan Swami and Pujya Shil Bhushan Swami. Many devotees celebrated the samaiyo with great enthusiasm and devotion. The evening congregation was extraordinary and became a highlight of the full day celebration. Pujya Mangal Nayan Swami's discourse encompassed some of the main principles of Bhagwan Swaminarayan's philosophy and practical applications in daily life. He narrated how Swamishree has morally and spiritually elevated the lives of devotees. Through his discourse, he struck an introspective note for all to ponder upon regarding the consolidation of one's faith and allegiance to Satsang.

The program enlightened one and all with a variety of Kirtans. In the time-honored tradition, the devotees rocked the cradle of Bhagwan Swaminarayan at the end of the celebrations to commemorate His birth on earth. Clifton Kishori Mandal had organized a bake sale to raise funds for Akshardham. The celebration ended with all the attendees enjoying the mahaprasad.

3 April 2004, Saturday, Fresno, CA:

The Shri Hari Jayanti Samaiyo celebrated what Bhagwan Swaminarayn had envisioned during his vicharan, and now through Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s inspiration the Kishore Mandal of San Jose put on an excellent performance in the presence of devotees from the begging to the samaiyo’s conclusion. The samaiyo commenced with the stuti, and dhoon. Followed thereafter by several kirtans interjected during the course of the program. The drama “Yu Hi Janma Gumat“ was also played out in its entirety followed by a speech depicting the Leela of Bhagwan Swaminarayan and emphasizing the importance of Maharaj by way of Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Therefore we should realize this invaluable asset, which we are fortunate to have and to put it to full use.

3 April 2004, Saturday, Houston, TX :

Devotees with prayers, bhajans and drams celebrated the dual celebrations
of Shree Ram Navmi and Shree Hari Jayanti. The evening program commenced
with the traditional dhoon and prathana.

The kishore mandal presented devotional bhajans and several one-act dramas depicting the lives of some of the greatest disciples of Bhagwan Swaminarayan that captivated the audience. Pujya Anupam Swami, Pujya Yashovijay Swami, and Pujya Munivandan Swami gave speeches on how Bhagwan Swaminarayan appeared on this planet to spread satsang and to reinstate dharma and its foundation to mankind.

Today,
Param Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj is doing exactly what Lord Swaminarayan
did during his time. Pujya Jnanpurush Swami then gave an eloquent speech
on God and his disciples. When God appears on Earth, not only does he
provide happiness to his devotees, but his true devotees are recognized
and worshipped, e.g. Ram and Hanuman. In order to be a true devotee,
one must carry out the Lord's or his Saint's wishes. The program ended
with aarti, followed by delicious maha-prasad.

28 March 2004, Sunday, Jersey City, NJ:

The auspicious birthdays of Purna Purshottam Narayan Sahajanand Swami and Shri Ram were celebrated by Jersey City mandir with great joy and happiness in presence of sadhus and devotess. Traditional decoration surrounding utsav murti of Maharaj was done on the stage. Sabha started at 4 p.m with dhoon, prarthana… devotional filled kirtans like 'premvati sut jayo', 'sonal suraj ugiyo', ' unchi medie', pag mane dhova dhyo' and " vandan karie karodo' were sung by vadil mandal ,that captivated the whole sabha. A video of Maharaj's murti was shown on the screen.

Sabha was fortunate to have presence of santos . Brief introduction of santos was given by a devotee. Later a speech by pujya Shilbhushan swami explained, why Lord Ram was known as Maryaada Purushottam? His life exemplifies the ideal son, ideal husband and ideal ruler,how we can make our life "ADARSH" like Lord Ram. Pujya Mangal Nayan swami explained the life of Shri Sahajanand Swami, like how he enlightened infinite hearts, inspired thousands to sacrifice themselves on his commands, gave women a well-defined status in society and the Sampradaya, thus uplifting them ,boosted literature, music and arts, propounded Ahimsac (non-violent) yagnas . He also explained one aspect of Upasana which is Pragat, which means manifest in human form, which means we have Maharaj in form of Swami bapa. After opening ceremony of dvd and two books, santos were welcomed with flowers. Sabha was lucky enough to have swamibapa's aashirvachan.. The small murti of Thakorji was placed in a 'parna'. Right after the aarti while kirtan vrund were singing "sona na bor' and 'dharma gher anand" santos and later devotees rocked the parna.. everyone took the blessing of Pujya santos and left after mahaprasad .

28 March 2004, Sunday, Miami, FL :

Ramnavami and Shri Hari Jayanti was celebrated in a very unique devotional
environment at BAPS Palm Beach Mandir. The Samaiyo started with melodious
"Bhajan-Kirtan" including a Bhajan describing the happiness in the environment
at the time of Shriji Maharaj's birth followed by two inspiring presentations
developed by the Yuvak Mandal Team. Topic of the first presentation
was "Achievements of Ancient India towards Materialistic World" describing
Ancient India's contribution towards the various fields of Construction,
Navigation, Medicine, Mathematics and Arts. The idea behind this presentation
was to show that India is not only a country of Religious beliefs, but
India is country with very rich heritage and how much India has contributed
towards the modern day science. Each field was explored with various
illustrations and documented proofs of such claims. Topic of second
presentation was "Misconceptions about Hinduism in Western World". In
this presentation it was presented how Hinduism is being portrayed in
Western World and what Pramukh Swami Maharaj is doing to change this
image in Western World by building vibrant Mandirs. Various London Mandir's
incidents were presented to show "How it has changed Hinduism's image
in Western World" followed by a short video presenting Miami Mandir's
affirmative activities to build a good Hindu citizen. The occasion was
then concluded with Aarti and Maha-Prasad in presence of devotees.

28 March 2004, Sunday, Tampa, FL:

The auspicious
birthdays of Bhagwăn Shree Swăminărăyan and Bhagwăn Shree Răm were celebrated
in Tampa, FL. The program commenced with Dhoon, Prărthană, and couple
Kirtans performed by Kishore Mandal and Yuvak Mandal. One of the Kishores
then gave a speech on Bhagwăn Răm in Gujarati. He talked about how Bhagwăn
Răm's life was and how we should all strive to be like him. Later on,
a Vadil gave a speech on Bhagwăn Swăminărăyan explaining his influence
to the society and how that is related to what Swămishri does at this
moment. The speech had a great impact on everyone and made them realize
how grateful we should be on being a Swăminărăyan and have the company
of Param Pujya Pramukh Swămi Mahărăj.

At the end
of the program, Bălaks performed a dance on the Bhajan, "Pragat Thayă
Prabhu Chappaiyă…" This dance was very well performed and caught each
and everyone's attention. After the program was over, everyone came
upfront to have Mahărăj's darshan in the "Părană" and also of the Annakut.

4 April 2004, Sunday, Washington DC :

The birthday of Lord Swaminarayan and Lord Ram was celebrated at the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir, Washington D.C. in the presence of Pujya Kishoremurti Swami, Pujya Harshvadhan Swami, and a grand assembly. The 3-hour program, entitled "Paramhanso naa Pagle Pagle", was a kirtan aradhana which presented several devotional kirtans composed by Lord Swaminarayan's renowned poet-saints such as Premanand Swami, Nishkulanand Swami, and Muktanand Swami. The entire program was planned and performed by the Bal Mandal and Kishore Mandal. The program began with stuti led by the shishu mandal, followed with dhoon and prarthana sung by Bal Mandal. Highlights included the Bal mandal singing "Snehbharya Nayane", the Kishore mandal singing "Lagi Ratana Ghanshyam ki", and a Kishore drama depicting Brahmanand Swami's amazing ability to create kirtans. P. Kishoremurti Swami gave a speech about the divine leela that Lord Swaminarayan had with His Paramhansas. The program ended with the singing of "Dharma gher anand bhaio" and the traditional rocking of the cradle of Lord Swaminarayan and Lord Ram. The decorations, depicting a traditional Indian village, were planned and created by Kishore Mandal. Everyone greatly enjoyed this samaiyo and appreciated the musical talents of the balaks and kishores.

28 March 2004, Sunday, Westchester, NY:

Shree Ram Navmi / Shree Hari Jayanti was celebrated with great enthusiasm in the Westchester Mandir in presence of devotees and Pujya Amrutcharit Swami and Pyjya Narayanmurti Swami. The event started with dhun, prarthana and kirtans related to the occasion. Pujya Amritcharit Swami talked about Shree Ramchandra Bhagwan, his life, his ideals and what we learn from him and from Sitaji, Hanumanji, Lakshman and Bharat. Pujya Narayanmurti Swami talked about Lord Swaminarayan, from his birth in Chhapaya to his pilgrimage all across the length and breath of India, his arrival in Loj and establishment of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya, his message of morality and purity of devotion through Satsang and establishment of the Ekantik Dharma. He talked on how this tradition was carried on by Shree Gunatitanand Swami, Guru Parampara and at present time by His Divine Holiness Pujya Pramukh Swami Maharaj. This was followed by Swamishree's video darshan, aarti and Janmotsava celebrations with Thakorji's Murti being swung on the decorated 'Parnu' and Haribhaktos joining in the singing of the Lord's praises. All the participants partook of the Mahaprasad at the end of the program. The Bal Mandal made dioramas depicting Shree Hari's life and his preachings.